Deny Deny Deny

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay strongly denied wrongdoing Tuesday in connection with two overseas trips financed by outside organizations, and said he is eager to discuss the facts with leaders of the House ethics committee.

"I feel confident I've done nothing wrong," the Texas Republican said as fellow lawmakers and aides sought to assess the impact of fresh controversy on the party in general.

The Texas Republican laid the blame for the recent controversy at the feet of congressional Democrats and what he charged was inaccurate newspaper reporting.

He said there was nothing wrong with either of the two trips. One involved going to South Korea in 2001 — a trip bankrolled by the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council.

The other trip was to Britain in 2000. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the cost of that voyage was picked up mostly by an Indian tribe and a gambling services company.

In unusually direct terms, DeLay criticized the Post story, accusing the paper of a "zeal to leave readers with a false impression that I did something that I did not do."